Saint Paul is one of the two pillars of the church together with Saint Peter, the first pope. While in prison, Paul wrote to Timothy to express his firmness in faith even in adverse situations: “I have fought the good fight to the end. I have run the race to the finish. I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:6-7). Good is an understatement, for Paul lived his life only for Christ after his conversion.
“Next to Saint John, the Evangelist, he probably is the greatest genius Christianity has ever known,” according to Mausolfe and Mausolfe, 238.
He “overshadowed all other New Testament characters except the Lord,” said Stephen Fortosis in Great Men and Women of the Bible.
Saint Paul’s missionary travels, as presented by Bible Study.org, noted that “the most-traveled apostle is an amazing individual who influenced Christianity more than any other person short of Jesus.”
An epitome of humility, Saint Paul calls himself “a slave of Christ” (Romans 1:1), “the least of the apostles” (1Corinthians 5:9), and “the very least of the holy ones” (Ephesians 3:8).
An unlikely apostle of Christ
Saul of Tharsis was a staunch Pharisee, the most influential group among the three prominent sectors of Judaism.
Born at the beginning of the Christian era, his parents were Jews, descendants of the tribe of Benjamin. A Roman citizen, he studied in the School of Gamaliel and learned the laws of Moses.
A Pharisee in search for Christians to denounce before authorities, he was a most unlikely follower of Christ. He entered Christian homes, “dragging out men and women, he handed them over for imprisonment” (Acts 8:3).
He was in the crowd that stoned to death Saint Stephen, the first martyr of the church. Then the “murderous mob laid their garments at Saul’s feet” (Ellsberg, 282).
Despite the persecution of Christians, the apostles continued to preach. Saul was able to secure a letter from the high priest of the Pharisees, authorizing him to apprehend Christians in the synagogues of Damascus.
Near Damascus, a light from the sky surrounded Saul. He fell on the ground blind. He heard a voice: “Saul, Saul why are you persecuting me?”
To his question, “Who are you, Sir?” came the reply: “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. Now get up and go to the city and you will be told what you must do” (Acts 9:4-6).
The men traveling with him brought him to Damascus, where Ananias, on the Lord’s instruction, was to heal him.
To the hesitant Ananias, the Lord said: “This man is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles, Kings and Israelites (Acts 9:3-19).
Baptized immediately, Saul started to preach—Jesus as the Son of God—in Damascus, which solicited doubts for he was known as an enemy of Christians.
Barnabas shared Saul’s Damascus experience and his conversion to Christianity, which convinced others that he shared their faith.
Paul’s missionary journeys
During Saint Paul’s lifetime, all who were not Jews were called Gentiles or heathens. They did not acknowledge the God of the Bible. They were his audience, and to them he boldly preached about the Lord, His merciful love and the wonders He performed.
The New Testament lists at least 50 cities Paul had visited during his five missionary journeys, which started when he was 31 years old until he was 66. (Saint Paul’s Travel Map Bible Study.org)
During the first century, travel was a challenging task. So he must have walked most of the time beside a donkey, which carried a few belongings.
Although he sometimes rode on a ship, pirates and shipwrecks also endangered his life. Saul traversed streams, unbridged waters, mountains, desserts and experienced hunger, lack of shelter, proper clothes and sleep, and survived on the charity of converts.
Exposed to robbers, mobs, wild animals unbelievers and angry Jews, he was stoned, beaten, humiliated and imprisoned.
Paul endured the labors, trials and perils he encountered in his journeys because of mystical experiences implied in his having “caught up in the third heaven” (Acts 12:12).
He acknowledged that the grace of God is with him (1 Corinthians 15:10). For his concern, he expressed “anxiety for all the churches” (2 Corinthians 1:28).
His interest and care for the people who he converted, prompted him to write letters to the Christians in Rome, Thessalonians, Corinthians, Philippians in Greece, Ephesians, Galatians, Collossians and Hebrews in Turkey for them to nurture their faith in the lordship of Christ.
The letters that have survived and became part of the Bible. Others were lost before the Bible was established by the church. The letters are important for the advice on how Christians ought to live.
Of the 27 books in the New Testament, 13 were attributed to Saint Paul. Half of the Acts of the Apostles were about his life and works.
Paul’s martyrdom
When Emperor Nero launched his persecution of Christians, Saints Peter and Paul were imprisoned. After months of imprisonment, Saint Peter was crucified and Saint Paul, who was a Roman, could not be crucified according to Roman law. So, Paul was beheaded at a place called “healing waters,” three miles from Rome.
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Santiago is a former regional director of the Department of Education National Capital Region. She is currently a faculty member of Mater Redemptoris Collegium in Calauan, Laguna, and of Mater Redemptoris College in San Jose City, Nueva Ecija.
Image credits: Wikimedia Commons